All-day meeting catering suggestions

0800 – On arrival

To keep minds active have fresh healthy food available. It is important to remember these are working meetings. All food should be able to be eaten with a single utensil or be bite-size to allow the directors to take notes. Assume the attendees have already eaten breakfast so make the food light.

• Freshly sliced fruit, dates and nuts, single-serve yoghurts, in winter add warm mini quiches;
• A bowl of whole fresh fruit available such as strawberries, cherries, nectarines, grapes, apricots, apples, bananas etc leave the bowl there all day and refresh during lunch and for afternoon tea. Also nuts and dried fruits are great for grazing throughout the day. Make sure none of the participants has nut intolerance and know that too much-dried fruit can cause bloating and eh hem flatulence.
• Avoid foods that have a strong odour that may linger throughout the rest of the day like sausage rolls or blue cheese.

And serve good coffee and freshly boiled hot water for the tea drinkers. If you have a small group consider ordering barista coffees for when they arrive. Get them to mark their preferences on a coffee order card like this one, unless you already know their preferences.

Ensure there is a water available throughout the day.

1000 – Morning Tea

• Bring in the sweets – mini pastries are the go here – you want to get their sugar levels up, just a little;
• Dips such as Hummus or Tatziki served with crackers, mini pita bread, carrot and cucumber batons are a healthy alternative; and
• A fresh lean meat platter with cherry tomatoes and asparagus spears will help fill them up until lunch time.

1200 – Lunch

Lunch may take a couple of forms.

• Board only – directors move to a separate room to dine without executives. Buffet style is the best with two hot dishes, salad and vegetable options.
• Board with guest speaker – this will be more formal and guests should be served by a waiter, have a choice of main courses and cheese or sweet platter on the table.
• Working lunch – when you know the timing will be tight order the following: Sandwich wraps, sushi, Vietnamese rolls, ploughman’s lunches etc; or
• Free time to grab a plate of food so the participants can catch up on other business emails or go for a walk and take in some fresh air.

1400 – Afternoon tea

• Refresh the fruit bowl and add a cheese platter – watch out for the ripe blue cheese!
• Good quality dark chocolate
• Popcorn and Pretzels